He was sitting in a corner of the loud playroom, knees drawn up to his chest, trying not to look at anyone. Some kids were laughing, a few crying, someone’s voice yelling from down the hall but Jared couldn’t hear much. It was like the world had gone quiet around him since the day the police had shown up to pick him after school instead of his mom and taken him to the station instead of home.

His bastard father had finally gone to far with his abuse, accidentally killed his mother and then ...